Keeping Weight Off During the Holidays

GO AHEAD, OVER-INDULGE

THEN, HIRE ME!

I can't believe November is gone and December has arrived.  November for many, is the start of the holiday season;  Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Years.  And, for a Personal Trainer, I am "ordained" with the responsibility to watch over my clients carefully, to keep them on track, warding off weight gain.  

What I do, and all good Personal Trainers do is give them the tools to be successful themselves.  Here's a brief list of my holiday to do's:

• Do treat the holidays like any other day.  You can have your cake and eat it too.  What I really mean is, you can have your holiday and eat it too.  Treat it like any other day.
• That means, don't load up on food, just because it's a special day.  That's a poor excuse to overeat and eat poorly.
• Why do we overeat just because it's a holiday? 
• Why do we eat fat and carbohydrate rich foods because of the holiday? 
• What's your starting point?  healthy?  overweight?

 One of the best things you can do to watch your weight during the holidays, especially if you are prone to over-indulging, is to plan ahead.  Use my Weekly Meals Planner and make note of the following:

• What special events do you have this week?
• When are you eating out?
• When do you have parties to attend?
• What are your families activities this week?
• Where are you crunched for time, such as back to back appointments that will force you into an "eating out" situation?

Write down all these occasions and note when you will not be able to control your food choices (i.e. that's pretty much every time you are not cooking for yourself).  Then, be proactive.  By planning ahead, you can plan to pack your lunch, not skip meals, and make good food choices.

A second good idea is to continue to keep a Weekly Nutrition Log throughout the holidays.   Too often, when we are at parties, or are eating out, we do not realize that we are nibbling on appetizers, snacking from the nut jar, having one too many cocktails or holiday cookies and more.  By keeping a food journal, your awareness is increased and you can make choices in the current moment before it's too late.

Finally, indulging is fine, over-indulging is not.  If you do over-indulge...give me a call.  You'll need me.

Kathy